1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to circuit protection devices which comprise conductive polymer PTC elements.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
Conductive polymer PTC compositions are well known, and for details of recent developments relating to such compositions and devices comprising them, reference may be made for example to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,017,715 (Whitney et al.), 4,177,376 (Horsma et al.) and U.S. Ser. Nos. 608,660 (Kampe) now abandoned, 750,149 (Kamath et al.) now abandoned, 732,792 (Van Konynenburg et al.) now abandoned, 751,095 (Toy et al.) now abandoned, 798,154 (Horsma et al.) now abandoned, 873,676 (Horsma) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,468, 965,343 (Van Konynenburg et al.) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,441, 965,344 (Middleman et al) now U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,238,812, 965,345 (Middleman et al.) now abandoned, 6,773 (Simmon) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,698, 41,071 (Walker) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,471, and 98,711 (Middleman et al). It has been proposed to use devices comprising PTC elements to protect circuits against fault conditions arising from excessive temperatures and/or circuit currents--see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,978,665 (Vernet et al.), 3,243,753 (Kohler) and 3,351,882 (Kohler), U.K. Pat. No. 1,534,715, the article entitled "Investigations of Current Interruption by Metal-filled Epoxy Resin" by Littlewood and Briggs in J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys, Vol. II, pages 1457-1462, and the article entitled "The PTC Resistor" by R. F. Blaha in Proceedings of the Electronic Components Conference, 1971, and the report entitled "Solid State Bistable Power Switch Study" by H. Shulman and John Bartho (August 1968) under Contract NAS-12-647, published by the National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration. However, it is only very recently, as described in U.S. Ser. Nos. 965,344 (Middleman et al.) and 6,773 (Simon), that circuit protection devices comprising conductive polymer PTC elements have become a practical reality.
The disclosure of each of the patents, patent applications are publications referred to above is incorporated by reference herein.
A problem which arises in the use of electrical heaters comprising PTC elements is that when a PTC element is heated by passage of current through it to a temperature at which it is self-regulating, a very large proportion of the voltage drop over the PTC element nearly always takes place over a very small proportion of the element. This small proportion is referred to herein as a "hot zone," and is referred to in the prior art as a "hot line." As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,376 (Ser. No. 601,638), the result of hot zone formation, especially in heaters which comprise wire electrodes joined by a strip of PTC material, is that the heater is less efficient. U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,376 describes electrical devices, especially heaters, which comprise a layer of a PTC material with a contiguous layer of constant wattage (or ZTC) material, so that the hot zone is of greater area at right angles to the direction of current flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,882 (Kohler) discloses electrical resistors comprising a PTC conductive polymer element which has end portions of relatively large cross-sectional area and a constricted intermediate portion of relatively small cross-section, and generally planar electrodes of substantial cross-sectional area (typically of "meshed" construction) embedded in the end portions of the PTC element; the PTC element is cross-linked at least around the electrodes. The stated object of using such electrodes is to provide a relatively low and uniform current density around the electrodes and thus avoid the localized overheating which occurs with other type of electrode, causing deterioration of the PTC material and undesirable variations of the paths of current flow. The stated object of having a constricted intermediate portion in the PTC element is to ensure that the end portions will not reach the critical temperature (at which the PTC conductive polymer increases sharply in resistivity) because the greater current density in the intermediate portion results in the intermediate portion first reaching the critical temperature and thus reducing the current through the resistor.